Venus

Orbital eccentricityOf all the planets in our solar system, the orbit of Venus is the least eccentric (or closest to a perfect circle). At the scale of this diagram, its perihelion is only about 6 inches closer to the Sun, and its aphelion is a corresponding distance farther out. Light from the Sun takes about 6 minutes to reach Venus.

More interesting facts

Venus is very close in size to the Earth.

But it is much hotter than Earth, and even hotter than Mercury, despite being farther from the Sun. This is because of its dense atmosphere, which traps much of the heat from the Sun.

Like all of the inner planets, Venus has a solid surface. However, its thick clouds prevent us from imaging it in visible light. Instead, the planet’s surface has been mapped using radar imagery.

Venus revolves around the Sun in the same direction as all the other planets in our Solar System, but it rotates on its axis in the opposite direction of the other planets.

After the Sun and Moon, Venus is the brightest natural object in the Earth’s sky. Sometimes it is even possible to see Venus during the daytime!

The Venus image on this page (silhouetted as it transits in front of the Sun) was taken in 2012 by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, and is courtesy of NASA/SDO.​If you arrived at this page by scanning a QR code, and want more information, please see the Introduction page.